The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-334029, filed on Oct. 31, 2001, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical component mounting structure for a personal watercraft.
2. Description of Background Art
An electrical component mounting structure for a personal watercraft as shown in FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b) has been known in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 10-194195.
A body 1 of the personal watercraft shown in FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b) is composed of a hull la constituting a lower portion of the body 1 and a deck 1b for covering an upper portion of the hull 1a. As shown in FIG. 15(b), an exhaust outlet 3a of an exhaust pipe 3 of an engine 2 disposed in the body 1 is formed on one side in the lateral direction of the body 1.
Batteries 4a and 4b as main electrical components are symmetrically disposed on the left and right sides of the body 1 as shown in FIG. 15(b).
The personal watercraft of this type may be used as a leisure boat, and is therefore often turned over. As a result, a slight amount of water often remains in the body of the watercraft.
According to the above-described related art electrical component mounting structure, since the electrical components 4a and 4b are symmetrically disposed on the left and right sides of the body 1, when the body 1 in a turn-over state is returned to a normal posture, there may occur a problem that water remaining in the body is necessarily splashed to one of the electrical components 4a and 4b symmetrically disposed on the left and right sides of the body 1.
For the personal watercraft of this type, the return direction of the body 1 in a turn-over state is generally instructed, by an instruction manual or the like, such that the body 1 should be turned by lifting up the exhaust outlet (opening) 3a side (for preventing water from permeating in the opening 3a). Accordingly, for the example shown in FIG. 15(b), the electrical component 4a disposed on the side opposed to the opening 3a side (left side in the running direction in FIG. 15(b)) is easier to be splashed with water. As a result, there a problem arises in that at least the electrical component 4a on the left side must be subjected to a strict waterproof treatment.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem, and to provide an electrical component mounting structure for a personal watercraft, which is capable of preventing electrical components from being splashed with water, thereby simplifying a water-proof treatment thereof.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an electrical mounting structure for a personal watercraft is provided, in which a body of the personal watercraft is composed of a hull constituting a lower portion of the body and a deck for covering an upper portion of the hull, and an exhaust outlet of an exhaust pipe of an engine disposed in the body is formed on one side of the body in the lateral direction, wherein the electrical components are disposed in the body in such a manner as to be offset on the one side from a central portion in the lateral direction. Further, none of the electrical components is disposed in the vicinity of a wall surface constituting the other side of the body.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the electrical components are disposed in the body at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, at least one of a plurality of the electrical components is mounted to a side wall constituting the one side of the body.
The functions and effects of the present invention are summarized below.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the electrical components are disposed in the body in such a manner as to be offset on the one side from a central portion in the lateral direction, and none of the electrical components is disposed in the vicinity of a wall surface constituting the other side of the body. As a result, when the body in a turn-over state is turned with the exhaust outlet side lifted up for returning the body to a normal posture, the electrical components are less likely to be splashed with water. Thus, it is possible to simplify a waterproof treatment of the electrical components.
If the electrical components are disposed only at a central portion of the body, which generally is splashed less with water, the layout of the electrical components becomes very difficult because a space in the body of the watercraft is small. However, according to structure described in the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent the electrical components from being splashed with water, without limiting the degree of freedom of the layout of the electrical components.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the electrical components are disposed in the body at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction. As a result, it is possible to further prevent the electrical components from being splashed with water, and hence to further simplify a waterproof treatment of the electrical components.
According to the third aspect of the invention, at least one of a plurality of the electrical components is mounted to a side wall constituting the one side of the body. As a result, it is possible to further suppress the electrical component mounted to the one side of the body from being splashed with water and hence to further simplify a waterproof treatment of the electrical component.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.